Alex Verdugo stays hot for Great Lakes

Player of the day

Alex Verdugo had his 14-game hit streak snapped on Friday, but on Saturday he bounced back by finishing a triple shy of a cycle for Great Lakes. The homer was just his second of the season, but after a rough April he now has hit batting average up to .273.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Deck McGuire was hit hard on Saturday as the Dodgers fell to the Storm Chasers (Royals) 7-4. McGuire allowed five early runs, and while he settled down and eventually made it through six frames, he still took the loss. Ramon Troncoso continued his solid relief work as two shutout innings lowered his season ERA to 2.53.

At the dish Darnell Sweeney finally cooled off as he went 0-for-5, while Corey Seager was also held hitless. Chris Heisey and Andy Wilkins had two doubles each, while Austin Barnes was 2-for-3 with his sixth homer of the season.

[Recap]

Double-A Tulsa

Jose De Leon had just his second subpar start since joining the Drillers as Tulsa lost to Corpus Christi 5-1. De Leon allowed just four hits over 5⅓ innings, but he also walked four and gave up five runs to pick up the loss. His offense didn't help him out much as the club managed just three hits in this contest. Brian Burgamy had the only highlight with a RBI double.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

Cody Bellinger hit his 15th homer of the season on Saturday, but it wasn't enough as Rancho lost to the 66ers (Angels) 4-3. Bellinger also added a double in this game, his 22nd of the year, and drove in a pair. Brandon Dixon also had a two bagger for the Quakes, while Jacob Scavuzzo drove in the other run.

Starter Luis De Paula only allowed three hits over his five innings of work, but he also walked a trio and gave up all four runs to record the loss. Joe Broussard was solid in relief with three shutout frames to keep the game close, but the offense wasn't able to capitalize.

Low Class-A Great Lakes

Player of the day Verdugo had a big night at the plate for the Loons but Great Lakes still lost their fourth straight, falling to West Michigan (Tigers) 6-5. As mentioned above, one day after having his hitting streak snapped Alex was 3-for-5 with a homer and finished a triple shy of the cycle. The rest of the club managed just one extra base hit which is what contributed to the loss.

On mound Derrick Sylvester allowed seven hits and five runs, but only one of those runs was earned thanks to a couple of errors. Cameron Palmer also struggled a bit in relief as he walked four and gave up the final run of the game.

[Recap]

Rookie Ogden

The Raptors offense put together some early fireworks as they blasted a couple of homers and scored all seven of their runs by the fourth inning, but their pitching wasn't able to hold up as Ogden lost to the Rockies 10-7. Nick Dean actually led off the bottom of the first with a solo shot, then a few batters later Matt Jones went deep for a two-run bomb. Nick Sell also had a big game as he went 2-for-5 with a double and a RBI, while Chris Godinez tripled and drove in a run.

The Raptor pitching did not have a good night, starting with Dennis Santana who gave up five runs in just 2⅓ innings of work. Rob McDonnell was saddled with the blown save and loss as he allowed three runs in the seventh.

Transactions

Triple-A: Catchers Brian Ward and Ralph Henriquez switched places on the DL, with Henriquez being activated and Ward being put on. Scott Baker was also placed on the DL, while Ramon Troncoso was activated.

Saturday box scores

Omaha 7, Oklahoma City 4

Corpus Christi 5, Tulsa 1

Inland Empire 4, Rancho Cucamonga 3

West Michigan 6, Great Lakes 5

Grand Junction 10, Ogden 7

Sunday schedule

10:00 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Matt Shelton) at West Michigan (Jeff Thompson)

12:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Chris Anderson) vs. San Antonio (Justin Hancock)

3:00 p.m.: Ogden (Jairo Pacheco) vs. Grand Junction (Chad Zurat)

4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Eric Surkamp) at Omaha (Kris Medlen)

5:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jeff Brigham) at Inland Empire (Sean Newcomb)

7:00 p.m.: AZL Dodgers (TBD) vs. AZL White Sox (TBD)